The best thing next to wit is a consciousness that it is not in us; without wit, a man might then know how to behave himself, so as not to appear to be a fool or a coxcomb.

Two quite opposite qualities equally bias our minds - habits and novelty.

It is easier to enrich ourselves with a thousand virtues, than to correct ourselves of a single fault.

The pleasure a man of honor enjoys in the consciousness of having performed his duty is a reward he pays himself for all his pains.

We should laugh before being happy, for fear of dying without having laughed.

Grief at the absence of a loved one is happiness compared to life with a person one hates.

One should never risk a joke, even of the mildest and most unexceptional charters, except among people of culture and wit.